The Welfare of Future Children

Reproductive Ethics and Disability Screening

Dr Rebecca Bennett (University of Manchester, UK)

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
20 February 2025

Ethics & moral philosophy; Social & political philosophy; Medical ethics & professional conduct; Bio-ethics

This open access practical guide to reproductive ethics navigates the complex subject of the policy around IVF treatment and disability screening based on the concerns around the welfare of future children. It focuses on 3 questions in order to examine these often complex philosophical issues:

· Should we allow prospective parents using IVF to implant an embryo with a condition considered to be a disability? · Is routine screening for Down syndrome in pregnancy ethically acceptable, even if there is evidence that individuals may feel pressure to accept this screening? · Are we justified in attempting to evaluate the potential parenting ability of those trying to access fertility treatment (e.g. disabled people or individuals with past criminal convictions) and prevent access in some cases?

Rebecca Bennett walks the reader through different answers to these questions, exploring issues such as whether it is ever morally wrong to reproduce, whether we have a moral obligation to try and bring the ‘best’ children we can into existence and how we can assess the quality of future lives.

There is, of course, no consensus about what the ‘right’ answers are to these questions, however answers are needed.

This area of policy and regulation is one that, Bennett argues, is heavily influenced by intuition, social norms and bias. The Welfare of Future Children invites us to question these norms and to come to a position on these issues that emphasises reason, transparency and accountability.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the University of Manchester, UK.

By: Dr Rebecca Bennett (University of Manchester UK)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 138mm,
ISBN: 9781350344341
ISBN 10: 1350344346
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 20 February 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction Chapter 1: International Policy around the welfare or best interests of future children Chapter 2: How can I deal with ethical questions with confidence? Chapter 3: When is having a child a harmful thing to do? Chapter 4: Why do I feel uncomfortable about this conclusion? The Non-Identity Problem. Chapter 5: Should we accept the conclusions of the Non-Identity Problem? Chapter 6: Where do you draw the line between what is an acceptable and unacceptable quality of life for a future individual? Chapter 7: Where does current regulation on the welfare of future children draw the line? Chapter 8: Alternative approaches to current regulations Index

Rebecca Bennett is Professor of Bioethics in the Centre for Social Ethics and Policy, Department of Law, at the University of Manchester, UK.

Reviews for The Welfare of Future Children: Reproductive Ethics and Disability Screening

Rebecca Bennett elevates the discussion on the ethics of disability screening to a new level by her original, balanced, and ground-breaking treatment of the subject. The new toolkit that she offers will both advance theoretical scrutinies and help practical day-to-day decision-making. This masterpiece is a must-read to every student and professional in all parts of the healthcare system. -- Matti Häyry, Professor of Philosophy of Management, Aalto University School, Finland This wonderfully accessible, authoritative and compassionate book about obligations to future children deserves to become the definitive account of this complex debate. -- Emily Jackson, Professor of Law, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK An excellent and scholarly exploration of an important and sensitive family of moral issues. This book also signals an important and welcome shift in attitudes to disability more generally. It will be invaluable not only to academics and professionals working in the field but also to the many families living with these issues. -- John Harris, University of Oxford, UK